Kevin Haskin: Billy outfoxes Bobby in K-State upset

Kansas State coach Bill Snyder, right, improved his record to 2-7 against Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, who was an assistant for Snyder during the 1990s.

NORMAN, Okla. — The snappy, vibrant, innovative coaching mind on the sideline Saturday night did not belong to the coach who, throughout the week, was called Bobby.

Instead, it was Billy who came up smart as No. 15 Kansas State shocked No. 6 Oklahoma, 24-19, at Owen Field.

Credit goes to every Wildcat who took the field and mounted this surprise, the first ever stirred by a ranked opponent facing Bob Stoops on Oklahoma soil.

But it was Bill Snyder who settled the Wildcats following a questionable replay ruling. Snyder, who orchestrated a strong defensive performance that generated three critical takeaways. And Snyder, who sent in the plays on a decisive eight-play drive in the fourth quarter that put the Wildcats ahead by two scores.

For just the second time in nine meetings, mentor beat pupil. Billy outfoxed Bobby.

Never mind that Snyder turns 73 early next month. The wheels still turn, the adjustments still click and the motivational tactics still work.

Of course, he’ll joke about some of his senior moments. And it was easy to wonder if he was having just that after K-State stuffed a two-point conversion, yet quarterback Collin Klein came out throwing when the outcome needed to be iced.

Yet the Wildcats sealed the upset, their first win at OU since 1997 and first in the regular season against Stoops, who took over the Sooners in 1999.

The 77-yard drive that pushed K-State’s lead to 24-13 with 7:27 remaining was vintage Bill.

Until then, the Cats had not targeted a tight end. Yet Klein completed two balls to Travis Tannahill for 34 yards. The Cats also ran a pair of end-arounds, another wrinkle they had not shown all game.

The victory, however, was more than just strategizing. It was about will.

That, of course, is what Klein is all about. The first down the senior produced on the final drive to get the Cats into a victory formation was pure effort.

But then so were so many more plays. Like the strip by Justin Tuggle, which Jarell Childs recovered for K-State’s first touchdown. Or the deflection Tuggle made much later, in the fourth quarter, to keep OU from getting within a field goal.

The defense lives. It forced three turnovers. It also kept Landry Jones, the OU quarterback who looked like he could take on the world, and do it every Sunday, just last year in Manhattan, off balance all night.

The K-State offense, meanwhile, did just enough in timely fashion. No matter how often Klein gets mentioned as some changed thrower, he is still a runner at heart. He made 17 plays with his feet, 13 with his arm and beat the Sooners with 228 total yards. John Hubert also had his most determined effort, adding 130 yards on 23 carries, behind an unappreciated line.

Overseeing it all was Snyder.

He had to keep K-State from crumbling over a call. Another turnover on a fumble by Jones — deep in OU territory — was overturned when, upon review, it was determined he had attempted a shovel pass. Some attempt. No football ref in America — pro, college or replacement — would see that with a naked eye.

But that’s what you get with replay. And the Cats wilted. With possession restored, the Sooners drove 88 yards for a touchdown and a 13-10 lead with 5 minutes left in the third quarter.

Whatever deflation the Cats showed, however, did not linger.

Credit for that, again, goes to Snyder. These Wildcats seem to buy into his principles, his discipline, his goals (as he calls them) more any team he has coached in 21 years with K-State.

In the process, he beat his prized pupil in a game some had made into a referendum on whether Stoops is still the same, great coach.

That happens when the Sooners are unimpressive against UTEP. And when Bedlam rival Oklahoma State claims a conference championship outright for the first time since 1948.

Stoops and Oklahoma are supposed to be the ones winning championships.

Yet Saturday’s result suggests this could be a different year — again. Maybe Kansas State’s year.

Bill and his boys got it done Saturday at the toughest stadium in the Big 12. Other difficult trips await, but this one, coming this early, positions the Wildcats as contenders.